MEDIA COURT – A 70-year-old Chester man convicted of his fourth sex offense in May was sentenced Thursday to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Irvin J. Saunders, of the 900 block of Barclay Street, was found guilty in a jury trial before Common Pleas Court Judge Kevin F. Kelly of rape of a child, aggravated sexual assault of a child under 13, involuntary deviant sexual intercourse with a child, two counts each of sexual assault of a person under 13 and enticement of a minor.

Saunders was arrested in February 2022 after a 13-year-old girl admitted in a forensic interview that he had sexually abused her since she was 11, according to an affidavit filed by Chester police officer Jennifer Jones.

The victim, now 15, told Assistant District Attorney Danielle Gallaher on the witness stand that her file shows that Saunders had indeed abused her since she was six years old, but that she only remembers a period of about five years when she was between the ages of 8 and 13.

All of the assaults took place in Saunders’ bedroom and included him penetrating her, performing oral sex on her, and using sex toys on her. Investigators had seized sex toys from Saunders’ home during a search.

The victim said the abuse left her disappointed and disgusted with herself. She didn’t tell anyone at first because Saunders told her that if people found out, “everything would be ruined. It would be my fault and everyone would blame me.”

A second victim, now 11, said she was also abused three or four times when she was young, but could only remember one incident in which Saunders touched her outside of her underwear while they were watching television in his room.

Gallaher said Thursday that Saunders had left a trail of “ruin and utter destruction” with his criminal actions dating back to his first conviction for sexual assault in 1990.

Saunders also pleaded no contest in 2019 to two counts of indecent assault on a person under 13. In that case, he was accused of having sex with two girls, then ages 11 and 12, and then warning them not to tell anyone or he would kill them.

A few days after this confession, Saunders pleaded guilty to another charge of sexual assault of a person under the age of 13. He was sentenced to one to two years in prison, and both cases were tried in parallel.

Saunders injured a total of five people, including four children, one of them twice, Gallaher said.

According to Gallaher, he should have been sentenced to a minimum of 25 years in prison for his latest offense, but was instead offered a negotiated plea deal of one to two years.

While Saunders took advantage of the deal, Gallaher failed to seize the opportunity to make amends and instead came back to victimize one of the girls again and find a new victim.

“He stole the precious childhood of both children in this case and we can’t get that back,” Gallaher said. “He shaped their lives and development in life-altering ways that we cannot even comprehend. Their childhood experience was not one of love and joy, but of enduring abuse, suffering in silence, having their family torn apart, being at the mercy of the legal system, the whim of child welfare services and the mercy of the courts, and their suffering is not over. He has forever left a dark mark on their lives that they will never forget.”

Gallaher noted that the state’s Sexual Offender Evaluation Board found that Saunders met the criteria to be classified as a sexually violent offender, but she did not request a hearing on that issue because each charge carries a mandatory life sentence.

Gallaher on Thursday called for life sentences for two of the charges, each relating to both victims, while the remaining charges will run concurrently.

Defense attorney Michael Dugan said he understood the court’s hands were tied regarding the mandatory sentences, but asked that all sentences be served concurrently.

Saunders made only a brief statement that he did not believe he had been given a fair trial and that he had never been presented with any evidence. Judge Kelly said he believed the record contradicted that.

In addition to his prison sentence, Saunders was ordered to provide a DNA sample to state police, register as a sex offender for life, and have no contact with the victims.